Colorado Promise IHE FAQ’s

The Colorado Promise tax credit provides a refundable tax credit to
students for any tuition and fee costs paid out-of-pocket.

• Yes, participation in programs such as concurrent enrollment, ascent,
  AP, or IB will help students earn college credits without those credits impacting 
  the programs 65 credit hour limit. Students should talk to their high school to
  learn more about opportunities to earn college credit while still in high school.

• CDHE is coordinating resources with the Colorado Department of Revenue to provide to institutions. The initial document will be the communication message IHEs should send to eligible students. The template can be downloaded off the Colorado Promise website and tailored to fit institutional aesthetics and campus-specific information.
• The letter/email will provide students with information and resources on how to file a State of Colorado tax return.

There is no statutory obligation for a student to participate or claim the Colorado Promise tax credit. If a student is notified of their eligibility they can simply not claim the credit on their Colorado return.

There is no statutory obligation for students to participate or claim the tax credit. It is at the institutions prerogative if they wish to develop, maintain, and annually update a process for students to self-select out of the program. To reduce administrative burden, it is recommended that IHEs simply notify students that if they do not wish to receive a refund to not claim it on their Colorado tax return.

Institutions are required to notify students by January 31st of each regarding eligible tax credit amount for the prior calendar/tax year. For example by January 31, 2026 institutions must notify students if they receive a tax credit for the 2025 calendar year.

• Household income is determined by utilizing a families adjusted gross income (AGI) as determined by the FAFSA/CASFA. The AGI comes from the tax returned submitted two years before. (See Student Eligibility page for more details)
• For more information about eligibility criteria see the Student Eligibility page.

per statute, precollegiate credits (credits earned prior to completing high school) do not count towards or negatively impact eligibility for Colorado Promise. Any precollegiate credits will be removed by the institution when determining eligibility for each term.

Yes, if a student is eligible to receive in-state tuition and they meet all other eligibility requirements.

SB25-319 clarified that a student must enroll at a Colorado public postsecondary institution within two (2) academic years. For example, if a student graduates in May 2025 they have until the Spring 2027 term, which would start in January 2027.

SB25-319 clarified that students need to have completed high school after January 1, 2024 to be eligible for Colorado Promise, unless they were a current/active student during Fall 2024.

SB25-319 noted that students must have been current, or active student, during the Fall 2024 semester, or have completed high school after January 1, 2024.

Current statute does not require continuous enrollment once the initial matriculation (i.e. enroll within two (2) academic years of completing high school).

No, Colorado Promise only covers the first 65 credit hours of Undergraduate enrollment. If a student already has a bachelor’s degree, they have already completed over 65 credit hours.

No, SB25-319 clarified that the program is only for undergraduate students working on their first 65 credits.

Enrollment intensity does not apply when determining eligibility for the tax credit. Rather the number of credits completed at the end of a semester or term determines eligibility. A student must complete at least six semester credit hours for a single term for said term to be considered eligible for the tax credit.

C.R.S. 39-22-570(2)(c)(I) “Completed high school graduation or an equivalent on or after January 1, 2024, or is currently enrolled as of fall 2024”. This section of statute provides an exemption for the January 1, 2024 or later high school completion requirement for students who were currently enrolled during the Fall 2024 term. Any student who was enrolled during the Fall 2024 term at a Colorado public postsecondary institution regardless of student type (readmit, current, transfer, or first-time) automatically met the high school date completion date requirement. Students enrolled in fall 2024 do not need to have graduated or completed high school on or after January 1, 2024. 

While students enrolled during fall 2024 term meet the high school graduation date requirement, they still must meet the matriculation requirement. This means that a student enrolled in fall 2024 may be eligible as long as they originally matriculated to a Colorado public postsecondary institution within two years of graduating high school; this could have occurred at any time in the past. However, students enrolled in fall 2024 who took 3 or more years off between high school and their initial postsecondary enrollment are not eligible. 

Examples:

Qualifying Student: graduates high school in spring 2017 first enrolls at a Colorado public postsecondary institution fall 2018.

NOT Qualifying Student: graduates high school spring 2017 first enrolls at a Colorado public postsecondary institution fall 2021.

As with other cases where it is challenging for institutions to determine a students first term of postsecondary enrollment, the Department directs institutions to utilize a process and system which best meets their internal capacity for collecting the required information. 

Colorado Promise provides a tax credit reimbursement for all out-of-pocket costs paid for tuition and fees after all free aid, scholarship and grants, have been applied. Loans, federal or private, are not considered free aid, and should be included in the amount eligible for the tax credit along with any payments made by students (or families) out-of-pocket.

The eligible student must file a State of Colorado tax return. The notification letter/email developed by CDHE and DOR has information to help students start the process of filing a state return. Parents/Family members cannot file or claim the tax credit on a student’s behalf.

The tax credit will not impact your State of Colorado return. You should consult a tax professional regarding federal returns to see if a student needs to file a return.

The tax credit will not impact your State of Colorado return. You should consult a tax professional regarding federal returns to see if the student needs to file a return.

Per statute, institutions are responsible for determining if a student is eligible to receive the tax credit and notify the student of the eligible amount. The tax credit is only available for students who attend a Colorado public institution.

Institutions should continue to utilize the same process and procedures they use for PJs, which should follow guidelines set by federal financial student aid.

Eligibility is determined on a term-by-term basis. A FAFSA/CASFA must be filed for the aid year associated with a given term.

A completed FAFSA/CASFA is one that has been thoroughly filled out, submitted, signed and consent given by all required contributors, and processed without any issues. An official SAI must be calculated to be considered complete. If the student is selected for verification or conflicting information is identified by the IHE, all necessary documentation must be submitted to the IHE and processed before the FAFSA/CASFA is complete.

A student needs to only complete one application, if a student has already completed a FAFSA then the institution should receive an error code, or notification, that a FAFSA has already been completed. The FAFSA, if completed, should be the primary source used. When possible, a student should complete a FAFSA to access federal aid.

Only free aid (grants and/or scholarships which do not have to be repaid) should be counted towards the tax credit. Aid directed to cover other costs of attendance (books, cost of living, etc.) should not be counted towards the tax credit. Loans (public or private) do not count towards the tax credit and are eligible for the tax credit reimbursement to help the student either avoid future loans or pay back those already taken out.

Yes, if the student still has out-of-pocket costs associated with tuition and fees. For example, not all institutional promise programs cover student fees. A student could be eligible for the promise program and still pay out-of-pocket costs for fees and therefor be eligible for the tax credit (assuming all other eligibility criteria are met).

CDHE plans to utilize SURDS for data submission. Please note that due to the SURDS modernization work and ongoing data recovery methods the 2026 submission may take place via a secured submission platform. Institutions will be notified by October 2026 if an alternative platform is used.

Use the “Response File” sent back from CollegeAssist. The file provides student level data and has a data field which specifically shares the number of COF credits completed.

Each institution has a designated individual who is typically from the Registrars, IR, or Financial Aid. It is recommended that institutions connect with those offices. If the representative still cannot be determined, then contact CDHE for help.

C.R.S. 24-50-1002 requires any person who has access to FTI received from the federal government to submit fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a fingerprint-based criminal history record check. The CBI forwards the fingerprints to the FBI for a federal criminal history check

• Per technical changes: C.R.S. 39-22-570 (4)(b) Institutions are allowed to provide students an electronic statement and are not required to provide information in a physical form.
• CDHE in partnership the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) has developed a template letter/email for institutions to use.